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Half-breed
Half-breeds are vicious, humanoid hybrid creatures that appear in Fable: Blood Ties. The monstrous Half-breeds are the creations of Baro the alchemist, a shadowy man in the employ of Reaver. Fascinated by metamorphosis, Baro was obsessed with finding ways to use alchemy to trigger transformations in the human body. He would eventually come to ply his trade for Reaver, who would provide the alchemist with slaves for his experiments. Using alchemy and dark enchantments, Baro infused these poor souls with the essences of some of Albion’s most savage creatures, such as balverines, hobbes, and "binding magic from shadow creatures," but allowed them to retain a small shred of their humanity, increasing their cunning and making them easier to control. The Half-breeds were the result. The creatures themselves retain their humanoid shape, but their skin turns a sickly gray, with patches of coarse dark fur. Their facial features distend, drawing their lips back to reveal fangs. Their eyes turn a pale yellow, and their fingers elongate into razor-sharp claws. They are strong and extraordinarily agile, often dodging bullets fired at point-blank range, and they fight with the savagery of animals, using their claws to rip their prey apart. A few are even sophisticated enough to be bowmen, displaying exceptional accuracy. The Half-breeds communicate through a variety of harsh barks and howls, and the pack is led by the alpha male, known as the Prime, who answers directly to Reaver. The creatures are utterly obedient to Baro the alchemist, the only person with the knowledge to possibly cure them, and to Reaver above all, who has found the means to magically bend them to his will. Story Shortly after the successful defense against the Darkness and its ruler, The Crawler, a would-be warlord by the name of Droogan began to prey on some of the outlying towns in Albion's countryside, taking advantage of the chaos after the Crawler's attack and hoping to claim some power before order could be restored by Albion's new monarch, the Hero of Brightwall. Setting his sights on the large, yet poor town of Blackholm, Droogan's mercenaries are routed by the sudden arrival of smuggler/soldier/revolutionary hero Ben Finn, whose remarkable proficiency with firearms tips the scales in Blackholm's favour and ultimately wins the day. Upset by this sudden turn of events, Warlord Droogan goes to Reaver and hires his army of Half-breeds to lead the second assault on the town, lead by Ben Finn's transformed brother, William Finn. Beginning their assault at night with primitive bows, the creatures nevertheless manage to kill the militia leader Old Henry and scale the wall, but fall back when William Finn calls a retreat after recognizing Ben Finn by the family's signet ring. Intrigued, Ben Finn chases the retreating Half-breeds with his gnome companion until they come across Reaver's Manor in Millfield. Sneaking into the manor, Ben Finn saves William from being tortured by Baro, but stops short of killing the alchemist when Reaver explains that Baro is the only one who knows the cure. Desperate to save his brother and the other Half-breeds, Ben Finn agrees to assassinate Page, who Reaver sees as meddlesome after she repeatedly opposed his proposals during the monarch's rulings last year. Though Ben Finn finds Page, he finds himself unable to complete the assassination, prompting the trailing Half-breeds to once more capture them and bring them back to Reaver. Upset that Ben Finn refused to live up to their bargain, Reaver offers a new deal: if Ben Finn refuses to actively defend Page as she is torn apart by the Half-breeds, then he will go free. Ben Finn counters by passively shielding Page from her would-be executioners, only to be taken aback when he realizes that his gnome companion destroyed Reaver's control crystal, releasing them from service. Having slain Baro in their violent rampage, the unfazed Reaver explains that the Half-breeds will naturally try to fulfill their last assigned mission-the destruction of Blackholm-before the sun rises and destroys their last vestiges of humanity. Quickly riding Clash back to the town, Ben Finn forces the militia and the occupying soldiers of Warlord Droogan's army to work together to defeat the Half-breeds. Realizing that the creatures will still carry the day, Ben Finn allows William Finn to sieze a bandolier of grenades, summon the other Half-breeds, and kill both himself and the Half-breeds in an effort to die as a man rather than live as a beast. Unfortunately, before William Finn can go through with the deed, the rising sun, as Reaver promised, wipes away the last traces of the Half-breed's humanity, forcing Ben Finn to instead shoot the grenade. The ensuing explosion proceeds to destroy most of the Half-breeds, with the last few wounded beasts easily dispatched by Blackholm's ragtag militia. Category:Fable: Blood Ties